YP Comment: Time to welcome the youth vote

NEW research into voting patterns on June 8 reveals the extent to which Britain has been left divided. If the outcome rested with older voters, Theresa May would have won by the landslide which she envisaged '“ despite alienating many OAPs with her ill-conceived '˜dementia tax'. Yet, if it was left to students and younger people, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn would now be ensconced in 10 Downing Street because his alternative to austerity did, in fact, resonate.
Picture by Simon HulmePicture by Simon Hulme
Picture by Simon Hulme

It did not require detailed research by polling organisation Ipsos Mori to point out that this divide is now at its greatest since 1979 – it’s been self-evident in the post-election fallout. For, while more mature voters accuse younger people of economic naïvety over Labour policies like the abolition of tuition fees, there are many students who believe their future has been imperilled by older generations voting to leave the European Union exactly a year ago.

However, such simplistic arguments miss the most fundamental point of all; namely the fact that there’s been a marked increase in the number of younger people now engaged with the political process for the first time. This ends years of growing apathy which was a betrayal of all those who fought for Britain’s freedom – or those suffragettes who campaigned for women to have the right to vote. Not only does this increased civic engagement place the onus on every political party to come up with credible policy prospectuses that appeal to people of all ages, but they do need to build the broadest possible coalition of voters in order to form a government. Far from the youth vote being dismissed as a passing fad, it should be welcomed – and embraced.